Quintus Granius (town crier)

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Quintus Granius was a member of the Roman family of Granii who became known for his quick wit and wit . He lived in the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BC. Chr.

Life

Quintus Granius practiced the rather modest profession of a crier (praeco) , especially at auctions. However, his apt satirical remarks and his biting humor earned him fame and the attention of prominent contemporaries, so that he could count the speaker Lucius Licinius Crassus among his friends. The aim of his coarse humorous remarks were often high-ranking politicians, although he did not spare friends like Crassus when opportunities arose. In time, his name became synonymous with a witty man.

Gaius Lucilius mentioned funny speeches of Granius several times in the 20th (and perhaps 21st) book of his satires. The speaker Marcus Tullius Cicero , who allegedly still knew Granius personally, claims that the only narrative event from the tribunate of Crassus (107 BC) was his participation in the banquets of Granius, about which the satirist Lucilius reported twice. In addition, Cicero gives two glib replicas of Granius to questions that were given to him by Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio in his consulate in 111 BC. Or by Marcus Livius Drusus in his tribunate in 91 BC. Were placed. The speaker also passed on further accurate replies from Granius. Some of these are word games that only come into their own in their original language, Latin, and can only be understood through explanatory background comments.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cicero , Brutus 160 and 172; epistulae ad Atticum 6, 3, 7.
  2. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 172.
  3. ↑ Cicero, Brutus 160.
  4. ↑ Cicero, per Cn. Plancio 33; in addition Schol. Bob. p. 259f. Orelli.
  5. ↑ Cicero, de oratore 2, 253 and 2, 281f.
personal data
SURNAME Granius, Quintus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman crier (Praeco)
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century BC Chr.